


Valentine's Lessons

by Dandy



Category: Free!
Genre: Adopted Children, Established Relationship, Fatherhood, M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 18:00:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16837600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandy/pseuds/Dandy
Summary: Rin and Rei teach their daughter about Valentine's Day.





	Valentine's Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr on February 14th, 2016 as part of RinRei Week 3. The prompt was "Valentine's Together."

“So pink!”

Rei had just pushed their shopping cart into the candy aisle, followed by Rin, their daughter, Sakura, atop his shoulders. She was pointing at the shelves and their bright array of assorted pink and red, heart covered treat bags and boxes.

“Ah, I guess Valentine’s Day is coming up soon,” said Rei with a smile, glancing at Rin, who grinned back.

“Valentine’s Day?” Sakura kicked her feet lightly. “What’s that?”

“Valentine’s Day is when girls give chocolate to people they love. Then boys give chocolate back on White Day,” Rin explained, grabbing her feet to stop the kicking.

“Ooooh.” Sakura nodded with understanding. “Does that mean I can give chocolate to my friends at daycare?”

Rin and Rei glanced at each other again and Rin shrugged. “We’ll ask if it’s okay.”

“Yaaaay!”

She was quiet for only a minute as they continued down the aisle, but then, as children often do, she had more questions. “Daddy, did you ever give Oto-san chocolate for Val… Vel…” 

“Valentine’s,” Rin supplied for her. “And we usually do something else for Valentine’s and White Day…”

“So you don’t give him chocolate?”

“No.” Rin chuckled at a memory. “But for two White Days, _he_ gave _me_ chocolate that he made himself.”

“Whoa! Oto-san can make chocolate!?”

“Inside voice, Sakura-chan,” Rei chided, ignoring her pout. “Yes, I know how to make chocolate.”

“Wow…” There was a pause while Sakura thought this over. As they were turning the corner, she found a new question.

“But why did you make chocolate for Daddy? He doesn’t like sweet things.”

Rei laughed. “Ah, well… at the time, I didn’t know that.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“He didn’t tell me he didn’t like sweets.”

“What!? Did you lie, Daddy?”

“Only a little white lie.” Rin smiled up at her.

“Lying is wrong!”

“It was so I wouldn’t hurt his feelings. In that case, lying is okay.”

“Rin! Don’t tell her that!”

“Lying can be okay?” asked Sakura, looking between both of them, and Rei shook his head furiously while Rin laughed.

“No, Sakura, lying is _never_ okay. Don’t listen to Daddy.”

“But I’m supposed to listen to Daddy!”

“Not about this,” said Rei with a sigh, adjusting his glasses and ignoring Rin’s continued laughs. 

“I hadn’t told him I didn’t like sweets yet, because he worked really hard on the chocolates. But then I moved away to Australia…”

“I asked your Aunt Gou if there was any kind of chocolate from Japan he might be missing,” Rei picked up. “I was going to make that kind for him. But then she told me that she never remembered him eating any kind of sweets!” Rei sounded scandalized, even years later.

“I had to come clean,” Rin said, hanging his head.

“He certainly did! I was very upset!”

“I still don’t know what you were so mad about,” Rin huffed. “I ate every chocolate you ever gave me! The cookies and the cake, too.”

“That’s the very thing that made me upset!” Rei cried, and Sakura shushed him.

“Inside voice, Oto-san.”

“…You’re right, Sakura-chan.” Rei looked embarrassed. “It just made me emotional, that’s all.”

“Why?”

“Because I worked very hard to make those for Daddy, and then I learned I hadn’t actually been making something he liked. It was wasted effort.”

“It was never wasted,” Rin argued quietly, reaching out to put his hand over Rei’s on the shopping cart. “Even if it I don’t like chocolate, having you make something like that just for me made me feel really special. It warmed my heart, you know?”

Rei blinked down at his hand, then smiled at Rin. “Really?”

“Of course!”

Rei blushed. It was amazing how Rin could still make him feel giddy like that. “Well… I’m glad you finally told me, so I could spend my time on things you _actually_ like.” 

“That’s what I’m saying, Rei: if you made it, I like it.”

“Rin…”

Rei leaned into Rin, wrapping one arm around his back and kissing his lips. It was chaste, since they were in a supermarket, but it was sincere.

“Ew,” said Sakura above them with a giggle, and the two broke apart again, laughing with her.

“Do you think that’s gross?” asked Rin, tickling her leg.

“Really gross!” she announced through her laughter.

“Inside voice, Sakura-chan!”

They walked on into the baking aisle, and Sakura’s laughter died down.

“Can you teach me to make chocolate, Oto-san?”

“Of course. We can make some tomorrow.”

“You too, Daddy!”

“Sure, Sakura.”

Rin reached out to take Rei’s hand again, and they went looking for the ingredients to make Valentine’s chocolate together.


End file.
